Ditching and grading machine.



Patented lan. 29, IQOI.

L. J. HELLING W. & H. KOCH. DITHING AN-D GRADING MACHINE.

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No. 666,568. Patented 1an. 29,1901.'4

L. J. HELLING & w. & H. Koen.

DITCHING .AND GRADING MAcmm-z. (n n d H (Appueiun med may 4, 1900.)

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DITCHING AND GRADING MACHINE.

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UNUSED STATES LOUIS JOI-IN IIELLING AND WILLIAM KOCH, OF OWENSVILLE,MISSOURI, AND HERMANN KOCH, OF ELLINWOOD, KANSAS.

DITCHING AND GRADING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 666,668, dated J'anuary' 29, 1901.

Application filed May 4, 1900.

T0 lf/ZZ whom, it fatty concern:

Be it known that we, LOUIS JOHN HELLING and VILLIAM KOCH, residing inand whose postofce address is Owensville, county of Gasconade, and Stateof Missouri, and HER- MANN KOCH, residing in and whose post-officeaddress is Ellinwood, county of Barton, and State of Kansas, citizens ofthe United States, have invented a new and useful Improvement inDitohing and Grading Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in grading-machines, and moreparticularly relates to machines of this character designed for gradingand ditching.

One object of the invention is to provide a grading-machine which issimple in construction, iight ofdraft, strong, compact and durable inthe general assembly of its parts, and designed to attain perfectlysatisfactory results for the use for which it is intended.

A further object of the invention is to provide a grading machine whichis so constructed as to be entirely under control of the operatorthereof, and, furthermore, to so arrange the scraperblade in relation tothe frame of the machine that the same may be easily adjusted withoutthe driver dismounting from the machine.

A further object of the invention is to embody in the machine simple andefficient means for always maintaining the scraperblade accuratelypositioned in relation to the work to be performed and whichscraperblade is adapted to instantly respond to the change of partsnecessary for adjusting the said blade to the required angle.

With these and otherobjects in view,which will appear as the nature ofthe improvements is better understood, the invention consists,substantially, in the novel construction, combination, and arrangementof parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanyingdrawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a gradingmachineconstructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. Z is a topplan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a lon- SerialNo.15,557. (No modeLlgitudinal sectional View of the machine. Fig. 4 is a transversesectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. v3, parts of the machine beingremoved. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the ma chine, the scraper-bladebeing set at an angle and the parts in the position assumed thereby whenthe said blade is in the position referred to. Fig. 6 is a top plan Viewof the rear end of the machine, partly in section. Fig. 7 is a verticaltransverse sectional view taken through the axle of the guide-wheel.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l designates the supporting-beamof the herein-described machine, said beam extending in a longitudinaldirection and being formed preferably of wood. Arranged at the forwardend of the beam l is an axle 2, which axle comprises upper and lowermembers 3 and 4, respectively, each of said members having its centralportion bridged orarched, as at 5. The bridged portion 5 of the members3 and 4 extend in opposite directions, and the extremities thereof lieupon each other, an axle-spindle 6 being interposed between saidextremities and secured therein through the medium of bolts 7. Mountedupon each of the spindles 6 is a wheel 8, which Wheels may be of anydesired construction; but the same are preferably of iron or similarmaterial in order to adapt same for the heavy work to which they aresubjected.

Projecting from each of the spindles 6 is a forwardly extendingattaching lug 9, and suitably connected to the forward ends of said lugis a pole l0. The pole l0 is provided at its rear end with atransversely-extending bar 1l, and arranged at the sides of said pole l0and diver-ging rearwardly are braces l2, terminating at their rear endsin hooks 13, designed to tit in perforations 14, formed in the lugs 9. Adraft-hook l5 is also arranged at the rear end of the pole 9, said hookbeing connected to an eye 1 6, fitted in the central portion of aU-shaped clevis. The members 3 and 4 of the axle 2 lie between the upperand lower ends of the clevis 18, and said ends of the clevis extendbeyond the rear edges of said members.

Arranged at the upper and lower sides of the beam 1 and at the forwardend thereof are forwardly-extending connectors 18, said connectors beingin the form of plates or bars, and the lower of said connectors isprovided with a downwardly-extending offset 19,which fits upon the upperface of the lower extremity of the clevis 18. The upper connector alsotits upon the upper face of the upper extremity of said clevis, andextending through said connectors and the clevis is a pivotal pin 20,through the medium of which the supporting-beam 1 is connected to saidclevis and in turn couples with the axle 2.

Arranged between the bridged portions of the members 3 and 4 of the axle2 is a drafthead 21, said head being preferably formed of wood, andarranged at the upper and lower edges of said head, at approximately itscenter, is a pair of connecting-loops 22, the latter passing through thebody oi' the head 21 and being secured therein by means of nuts 23. Asemicircular locking-guide 24 is arranged at the rear face of thedraft-head 21, the central portion of said guide being provided with aseries of spaced perforations 25, and the ends of said guide are bent atright angles to its body portion and connected to said drafthead bymeans of eyebolts 26. The guide 24 passes through and works within atransversely-extending semicircular groove 27, formed in the under faceof the beam l, the lower connector 19 passing beneath said groove, andthereby confining the guide 24 therein, and it will be observed at thispoint that said guide 24 is adapted to swing on the arc of a circlewhose center is the pivotal pin 20. For locking the guide 24 againstmovement within the slot 27 a latch-pin 28 passes through the upperconnector 18 and the beam 1 in order that its lower end may engage withone of the perforations 25 of the guide 24, and thereby prevent movementof said guide within said groove. The latch-pin 28 is hingedly connectedwith a bell-crank lever 29, the latter being fulcrumed within thebifurcated upwardly-bent rear end of the upper connector 18,and saidlever is designed to be operated by means of a rearwardly-extending rod30, having at its rear end a handle-loop 31, said rod being supported inan eyebolt 32.

The numeral 33 designates a scraper-blade, which blade is curved incross-section, as is usual, and said blade is provided atits lower endwith a share 34, designed to engage the earth, said share bein'gconnected to the blade 33 by means of binding-clips 35 and bolts 36.

Arranged at each side of the supportingbeam 1 and in a planetherebeneath is a longitudinally-extending draft-beam 37, the forwardend of which terminates in an attaching-hook 38, which hooks areconnected to the lowermost of the eyebolts 26. The draftbeams 37 arepreferably of metal, and the rear ends thereof extend downwardly and liein rear of the scraper-blade 33, the extremity ceases of said endspassing through and fitting within angular attaching-lugs 39, carried bythe rear face of said scraper-blade, said ends being held within saidlugs by transversely-extending locking-pins 40. Movement of thescraper-blade 33 transversely with relation to the rear ends of thebeams 37 is prevented by means of loops 41, arranged at the upper edgesof the blades 33, and said loops encircle said ends of the beams 37, andthus always maintain said blade in proper relation to said beams. Asimilar loop 42 is arranged at the central portion of the blade 33,which loop encircles a depending guide-rod 43, carried by the rear endof the su pporting-beam 1, and said rod is designed to limit thetransverse movement of the blade 33 relative to the frame of themachine.

To enable the scraper-blade 33 to be adjusted at various angles relativeto the supporting-beam 1, thus providing for presentation of the bladeat various angles to the earth, a swivel-beam 44 is arranged upon theupper side of the supporting-beam 1, adjacent to the rear end thereof,said beam 44 being connected to the supporting-beam 1 by means of apivotal pin 45, and said beam 44 is designed to swivel upon the pin 45when adjusting the blade 33 to the desired angle. An annular guidering4is interposed between lthe beams 44 and 1, which ring is designed toprevent wear upon the latter, and in order that the beam 44 may also befree from the wear incident -to its swiveling movement' the same isprovided at its under side with U-shaped shoes 47, which embrace theside edges thereof and are suitably secured thereto. The shoes 47 workupon the guide-ring 46, and thus the beam 44 is maintained at all timesin the same relation to the beam 1, as is clearly obvious.

For raising and lowering the scraper-blade 33 a pair of ratchet-levers48 is employed, one of said levers being arranged at each end of thebeam 44, and each of said levers is provided With a crank 49, toA whichis connected a link 50. The links 50 extend from the cranks 49 to theupper edges of the scraperblade 33, at which point said links areconnected to said blade; but it is thus evident that when the cranks 49are raised and lowered by swinging the levers 48 upon their fulcrumssaid blade 33 will be raised and lowered also for moving the same awayfrom and toward the earth. In order that the blade 33 may be maintainedat various heights above the earth, each of the levers 48 is providedwith a semicircular guide-rack 5l, having in its body portion a seriesof perforations 52, with which the ratchets of Ythe levers are adaptedto coact in the usual manner, and thereby lock the levers at variouspoints on said racks.

For upholding the supporting-beam 1 at its rear end a guide-wheel 53 isprovided, which IOO guide-Wheel may be of any suitable construction, andsaid wheel has upon its periphery a circumferential flange or rib 54 toprevent the wheel sliding over the earth, and in order that the wheel 53may be connected to the beam l a pair of attaching-arms 55 is connectedto the rear end of the beam and arranged one at each side thereof. 'lhelower end of each of the arms 55 is bifurcated, as at 56, and fitting inthe bifurcations of each of said arms is a bearing-sleeve 57, providedat each of its ends with flanges 58. The flanges 58 embrace the arms 55,and thus prevent lateral movement of the sleeves 57 relative to saidarms, said sleeves being held in the bifurcations of the arms 55 bymeans of retaining-pins59. Atransversely-extending axle-shaft 60 passesthrough the sleeves 57, upon which axle or shaft the wheel 53 ismounted, the hub of the latter snugly fitting between the inner ends ofsaid sleeves. It is desirable when ditching that the portion of theblade 33 employed for this purpose be firmly held to its work, and toprovide for this one of the attaching-arms 55 is so constructed as to becapable of longitudinal movement upon the supporting-beam l. This isaccomplished by providing said arm with apair of elongated slots 6l,through which slots bolts 62 are adapted to pass, the said bolts beingalso adapted to secure the attaching-arms 55 to the beam l. Apair ofguideloops 63 embrace the slotted arm, through which loops the ends ofthe bolts 62 pass, and by reason of the loops 63 the slotted arm isdesigned to easily move upon the supportingbeam l and always maintainedin proper relation thereto. An operating-lever 64 is pivoted to one sideof the supporting-beam l, said lever being provided with a ratchetadapted to coact with a guide-rack 65, and extending from the lever 64to the slotted arm 55 is a connecting-link 65, the point of connectionof said link being intermediate the slots 6l. It will thus be seen thatwhen the lever 64 is moved upon its pivot the slotted attaching-arm isadapted to follow the same, and in so moving it will be seen that oneend of the shaft 60 of the wheel 53 moves with said slotted arm. Byreason of this 'the wheel 53 is positioned at an angle to the line ofdraft of the machine, and thus holds the portion of the blade 33 whichis employed for ditching purposes well up to its work, as will morefully appear hereinafter.

A seat 66 projects from the rear of the beam l, said seat being mountedupon a supporting-arm 67, and said arm is suitably connected' to theunder side of the beam l, the seat 66 being disposed directly above thewheel 53. A pair of foot-rests 68 is also carried by the scraper-blade33 at its rear face, and upon said rests the driver places his feet formanipulating the scraper-blade 33.

A pair of connecting-rods 69 is suitably attached to the swivel-beam 44,the forward ends of said rods being connected to the uppermost of theeyebolts 26, and inasmuch as these bolts are carried by the draft-head21 it follows that the swivel-beam 44 is adapted to follow the movementsof said head, the rods 69 being disposed one at each side of the beam l.

The operation of the herein-described grader is as follows: When it isdesired to transport the grader from place to place, the levers 4S aremanipulated so as to move toward the seat 66, occupied by the driver ofthe machine, it being understood that the feet of the driver arepositioned upon the rests 68, and by so moving said levers it will beseen that the scraper-blade 33 will be moved upwardly, the share 34thereof being drawn away from the earth. The machine is thus free topass over the ground without the blade engaging therewith. An unimpededmovement of the grader may be thus effected. When, however, it isdesired to grade, and in a direct manner, the levers 48 are movedforwardly, thus permitting the scraper 33 to move downwardly, and if anequal pressure of the feet of the driver is exerted upon the ends of thescraper the latter will be positioned in direct transverse relation tothe supporting-beam 1. The share 34 of 'the scraper 33 will thereforeengage the earth in a straight manner and at no angle thereto, and inorder to deposit the earth accumulated upon the scraperblade it issimply necessary to elevate the blade 33, whereupon the earth which hasbeen gathered thereby will be deposited in the rear thereof. Whennecessity arises for the earth being engaged by the blade 33 at anangle, the rod 30 is grasped by the driver and rearward pressure exertedthereon, which pressure causes the latch-pin 28 to move upwardly, y

and said pin is thus disengaged from the guide 24. Pressure is thenexerted upon one of the foot-rests 68 to advance the end of the scraper33 to which said rest is attached and according to which end it isdesired to advance, whereupon said end moves forward while the other endmoves in a corresponding rearward direction. The blade is thus placed atan angle to the line of draft, and hence is adapted to engage the earthat such angle.

When used for ditching purposes, it is of course apparent that only theportion of the blade 33 adjacent to one end thereof is employed, and iftherefore the ditching is to be done at the right side of the machinethe lever 48 at the left side thereof is moved rearwardly in order toelevate the end of the blade to which the same is'conneeted, the lever48 'at the right side of the machine being moved forwardly, so that theend of the blade to which said lever is con necled may descend, and inorder that the end of the blade so lowered may be properly held to theearth for the ditching operation the lever is moved IOO IIO

IIS

rearwardly, and thereby causes the attaching-arm to which said lever isconnected to also move rearwardly, whereupon the adjacent end of theshaft follows the movement of the attaching-arm 55, so that the wheel 53is thrown at an angle to the line of draft, and which angle is such thatthe wheel is positioned toward the depressed end of the blade 33. Byreason of the position of the parts just described the end of the blade33 which engages the earth is held well up to it, so that the ditchingis effectually accomplished. For ditching at-the left side of themachine it is obvious that a mere reversal of the position of the partsfor ditching at the right side is necessary.

While the form of the invention herein shown and described is what isbelieved to be a preferable embodiment thereof, it is to be understoodthat the invention is susceptible to various changes, and a right istherefore reserved to modify or vary the invention as falls within thespirit and scope thereof.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a machine of the class described, the combination With asupporting-beam, of a fixed axle-support carried thereby, an axlepivoted at one end in said support and carrying a Wheel, a slidingsupport for the opposite end of the axle, also carried by said beam, andmeans for operating said sliding support, substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of asupporting-beam, arms carried thereby and extending beyond the endthereof, a clevis having its ends overlapping the ends of the arms, apivotal bolt passing through the overlapping ends of said arms andclevis, and an axle secured to said clevis, substantially as described.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with an axle,comprising a pair of complementary members provided with bridgedportions, and wheels carried thereby, of a supporting-beam suitablyconnected to said axle, a scraperblade carried by said beam andvertically adjustable thereon, said blade being adapted to be positionedat various angles to the line of draft, a draft-head carried by the axleand disposed between the bridged portions and wheels carried thereby,

of a supporting-beam suitably connected to the axle, a scraper-bladesuspended from the supporting-beam and vertically adjustable, said bladebeing positioned at various angles to the line of draft, a draft-headarranged between the bridged portions of the members of the axle andadapted to swing therein, draftbeams arranged between and connect-ingthe draft-head with the scraper-blade, a lockingguide carried by saiddraft-head, and a latchpin for engaging said guide to lock the draftheadin its adjusted positions.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with an axle,and wheels carried thereby, of a supporting-beam suitably connected tosaid axle, ascraper-blade suspended from said beam and adapted to bepositioned at various angles to the line of draft, attaching-armscarried by the supporting-beam, and a wheel'journaled in said arms, oneof the latter being capable of longitudinal movement relative to thesupporting-beam, whereby the' guide-wheel is positioned at variousangles to the line of draft.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination with an axle,and wheels carried thereby, of a supporting-beam suitably connected tosaid axle, a scraper-blade suspended from the supporting-beam andadapted to be positioned at various angles to the line of draft,attaching-arms carried by the support- 4ing-beam, a guide-wheeljournaled in said arms, one of the latter being capable of longitudinalmovement relative to the supporting-beam, whereby the guide-wheel isadapted to be positioned at various angles to the line of draft, andmeans for shifting said arm.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination with an axle,and wheels carried thereby, of a supporting-beam suitably connected tosaid axle, a scraper-blade suspended from the supporting-beam andadapted to be positioned at various angles to the line of draft,attaching-arms carried by the supporting-beam, a guide-wheel journaledin said arms, one of the latter being capable of longitudinal movementrelative to the supporting-beam, whereby the guide-wheel is adapted tobe positioned at various angles to the line of draft, means for shiftingsaid arm, and means for locking the arm in its adjusted positions.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination with an axle,and wheels carried thereby, of a supporting-beam suitably connected tosaid axle, a scraper-blade suspended from the supporting-beam andadapted to be positioned at various angles to the line of draft,attaching-arms carried by the support- Ying-beam, a guide-wheeljournaled in said arms, one of the latter being capable of longitudinalmovement relative to the supporting-beam, whereby the guide-wheel isadapted to be positioned at various angles to the line of draft, and aratchet-lever for shifting said arm and locking the latter in its adjusted positions.

IOO

9. In a machine of the class described, the combination with an axle,Wheels carried thereby, of a supporting-beam suitably connected to saidaxle, a scraper-blade suspended from said beam and adapted to bepositioned at Various angles to the line of draft, attachin g-arinscarried by the supporting-beam, one of said arms being provided Withelongated slots, bolts for connecting the attaching-arms to thesupporting-beam, said bolts fitting in said slots a guide-Wheeljournaled in the at- 'caching-arms, and means for shifting the movablearm, whereby the guide-wheel is

